ST. LOUIS, Mo. (April 1, 2015) – The ETSU baseball team opens a three-game non-conference series with Saint Louis on Thursday night at the Billiken Sports Complex.

GAME TIMES/PITCHING MATCHUPS

Thursday – 7 p.m. – Game No. 28

RHP Jimmy Nesselt (3-2, 3.13) vs. RHP Clay Smith (5-0, 2.08)

Friday – 7 p.m. – Game No. 29

RHP Lee Haeberle (2-4, 6.98) vs. LHP Josh Moore (3-1, 2.66) 

Saturday – 2 p.m. – Game No. 30

RHP Griffin Krieg (1-2, 7.09) vs. RHP Zach Girrens (4-1, 2.97) 

* Game times listed as EASTERN

PREVIEWING THE BUCS

ETSU (12-15) has dropped eight of its last nine and looks to rebound after a disappointing month of March where the Bucs went 7-13.

The Bucs are most recently coming off a 16-9 setback versus Morehead State Tuesday night, where the Eagles used an eight-run fourth inning to rally for the win.

Sophomore Chris Cook (Kingsport, Tenn.) has hit safely in his last 11 games, while junior Kevin Phillips (St. Louis, Mo.) has reached base in 21 consecutive games. Cook is hitting .533 (24-45) with five doubles, three home runs, 19 runs, and 13 RBI during his hit streak.

ETSU, who has registered double-digit hits 16 times this season, has accomplished the feat in 10 of its last 13 games. 

Junior Griffin Krieg (Nashville, Tenn.) is coming off a quality start as he held UNCG to three runs in a season-high seven innings on Sunday. Krieg also struck out four and didn’t issue a walk. 

Red-shirt freshman right-hander Dillon Cate (Sevierville, Tenn.) has been ETSU’s winning pitcher in its last three victories – vs. Miami (Ohio), at Morehead State and vs. UNCG. 

PREVIEWING SAINT LOUIS

Saint Louis has won 10 of its last 13 and enters the weekend with an 18-10 record. 

The Billikens have won back-to-back games and outscored Davidson and Bradley, 10-2, in the two wins. 

Saint Louis is led by junior Michael Bozarth as he leads the team in average (.379), hits (36), runs (26) and stolen bases (11), while juniors Jake Henson and Josh Bunselmeyer have recorded half of the Billikens’ 20 home runs. Henson and Bunselmeyer have belted five home runs each. 

The Billikens’ three weekend starters all have ERAs below 3.00 with the ace being red-shirt senior right-hander Clay Smith. Smith is 5-0 with a 2.08 ERA (11 ER/47.2 IP), while sophomore righty Zach Girrens is limiting the opposition to a .168 batting average in 33.1 innings of work. 

Saint Louis is 11-2 at home this season. 

The Billikens, who have made seven trips to the NCAA Tournament, are coming off a 34-win campaign in 2014 and won the A-10 regular season championship. 

SERIES HISTORY

This weekend marks the first-ever meeting between the two programs. 

The last A-10 opponent ETSU has faced was Rhode Island in 2013. The Bucs defeated the Rams, 5-0, at Thomas Stadium. 

COVERAGE

Live stats will be available for this weekend’s series via StatBroadcast by visiting SLUBillikens.com. Fans can access live stats on their computers, mobile devices or tablets. 

Live updates will also be posted on Twitter by following @ETSUAthletics and @ETSU_Baseball. 

A LOOK AHEAD

The Bucs return home to host UNC Asheville Tuesday night at 6:05 p.m. at Thomas Stadium. 

TEXTCASTER

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For more information on Buccaneer baseball, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the baseball page.